Hungarian Green Bean and Potato Soup

Total Time

1hr15mins

Prep 30 mins

Cook 45 mins

A Crescent Dragonwagon recipe, a delicious sweet and sour soup, don't omit a thing, as all the flavors meld into an incredible dish. Cutting the beans into very thin diagonal slices is important; if you have a food processor, stand them up in the feed tube and use the slicing disk.
Make sure your paprika is fresh for best flavor. For a much richer version, use up to a cup of creme fraiche or sour cream instead of the Yogurt. Creme fraiche will not require the cornstarch mixture as a stabilizer. I like to add a bit of Spanish smoked paprika, but it isn't necessary. A full-flavored stock is essential. I streamline her directions when I make this by sauteeing the onion, celery, and garlic in the soup pot, then adding the other ingredients and cooking it. I see no reason to clean two pans if I can clean just one!

Directions

Spray a large soup pot with cooking spray, put in it the beans, potatoes, stock, vinegar, honey, caraway seeds, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender, 30 to 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a ten-inch skillet. Add the onion and saute until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the celery, saute another 2 to 3 minutes. Lower the heat slightly, and sprinkle the vegetables with the paprika. Let the mixture cook a minute, stirring constantly. Scrape the sauteed vegetables into the soup pot. Add a little soup liquid to the skillet and deglaze it, then scrape the pan contents into the soup pot. Remove the soup pot from the heat.

When ready to serve, have the soup good and hot. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and mix it to make a smooth paste, using your fingers if necessary. Stir this paste into the yogurt. Whisk a ladle of the hot bean stock into the yogurt-cornstarch mixture. Turn down the heat under the soup as low as possible, and stir the cornstarch-stabilized yogurt into the very hot soup.Using a wooden spoon, stir gently until the soup has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings (including honey and vinegar), if necessary, and to be sure there is no raw cornstarch taste. Serve hot with a rustic bread.